Food Stalker

One aspect I really enjoy about blogs that I read such as Eat, Live, Run (a new favorite -- don't miss this nutritionist-come-culinary-student's site!) are how these folks detail their daily food intake. Not only does it inspire me with new ideas for lunches, but also helps me to get a better idea of what kind of nutrition choices support toward an active, healthy lifestyle. For example, Jenna has taught me that eating almond butter several times a day (spooned into breakfast oatmeal, or spread over a cracker as a snack) is not only not bad but in fact quite an energy booster.

So I decided to detail some more of the things I'm putting into my body over the course of a day. This particular run-down follows my eating for Thursday, August 22. Let the food rodeo begin!

I welcomed the day with a toasted blueberry bagel with fat-free cream cheese from Bagels on Broadway, a plum, and green tea. This is actually quite an abnormal breakfast for me -- usually I have a cup of fat-free vanilla yogurt mixed with frozen berries, a sliced banana, and a cup of Kashi's Go Lean! cereal. When I was buying bread for the Best Husband Ever at The Good Food Store on Wednesday evening, however, I felt a bagel craving come over me. Instead of buying a whole bag of bagels (it seems like so much to commit to in order not to waste them!), I selected one from the bulk bin. They also had cranberry bagels, which I'll have to try next time. These bagels are gluten- and dairy-free, and my blueberry bagel was quite tasty.


For a mid-morning snack, I had this peanut butter and oats granola bar. It's from Great Value BeneFIT, the Wal-Mart store brand, and not too shabby for a generic product. It hits the spot in terms of taste, but I wouldn't mind a little less sugar (it contains 10 grams) and a little more protein (it only has 3 grams). I prefer Kashi's GoLean Crunchy! bars and LUNABars both in terms of taste and nutritional content, but these generic bars are much gentler on the wallet.


For lunch, I packed up Mr. Bento with a pretty filling meal. My kitchen cupboard contains several cans of Busch's vegetarian barbeque baked beans that are set to expire this month, so I took half a can for lunch. In addition, I made a little salad of beet greens, halved grapes, jalapeno and orange bell peppers, tomatoes, and sprouts with a little pepper and balsamic vinegar. I took two fat-free honey vanilla rice cakes. Finally, I drizzled a little honey over some fat-free vanilla yogurt and topped that with cinnamon, nutmeg, and more halved grapes. I spread this concoction over the rice cakes. I felt pretty neutral about this -- it tasted fine, but was not anything special. In fact, I sadly felt this way about the entire lunch. Ah, well. You can't capture the wonderfulness of baked beets with every meal, I suppose.


My excellent evening munchings, however, more than compensated for my mediocre lunch. After work, I headed to a local coffeeshop, Break Espresso, for a little caffeine and blogging. I haven't been in to this particular cafe in the longest time, and it just felt good. Very relaxing. It's such a soothing place, especially since the university students hadn't yet returned, as they are certainly doing by the bushel even as I wrie this!


Hyped up on caffeine, I headed over to The Old Post Pub to meet my co-workers for a celebratory dinner. The alternative educational camp where I've been teaching this summer finished up on Friday, so the two other teachers and I decided to share some yummy food. I had never been to The Old Post before, which is a bar/restaurant, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I ordered the grilled portobello mushroom sandwich, which comes topped with roasted red peppers, smoked gouda, and green goddess dressing. For my side I chose garlic mashed potatoes, of course -- on a a chilly day like the one we were having, who could turn down such a hearty and garlicky delight? Not me, that's for certain. The verdict? 'Mmmmazing! It truly hit the spot, and was perfectly portioned, unlike so many restaurants where they load up your plate with three or four servings. Also, it wasn't overly greasy, which was a welcome change. I will definitely revisit both the bar and this sandwich!


Before I hit the sack, I had my regular nighttime snack -- a half cup of fat-free cottage cheese with a little pineapple and two slices of dried papaya. I have this little booster to make up for any too-small meals, and to help me gain my ten-ish pounds of healthy weight a little faster. Plus, it's tasty. I am a huge cottage cheese fan, and the papaya is delectable. And eating this snack out of my favorite little bowl only sweetens the deal.

Whew! That just about wraps my Thursday of food up, I suppose! All in all, I feel that it was an excellent day in terms of health (I made nutritious and filling choices) and my food feelings (I truly enjoyed everything I ate, including my rather lackluster lunch). What else can I say but -- huzzah!